This week, the state released its Academic Performance Index scores for 2010, and IUSD quietly earned the top spot among California’s larger school systems. For those not familiar with the API, the index was designed to show year-to-year improvement by annually assigning triple-digit scores to schools and districts. These figures, which range from 200 to 1,000, are based on standardized tests taken by students in the spring, as well as graduation rates at the high school level. As a district, Irvine Unified earned a cumulative score of 916 on the API, up eight points from the previous year’s base score of 908. That was enough to vault IUSD into a first-place tie with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District among unified school systems with more than 9,000 students. Both IUSD and San Ramon have enrollments of approximately 27,000. Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified, which serves around 12,000 students, was next on the list with an API score of 912. “Our focus in Irvine has been on meeting the needs of each student and closing persistent achievement gaps, and I believe that’s made a significant impact on our overall growth,” said IUSD Superintendent Gwen Gross. “While API statistics are insufficient to describe all of the amazing things that are happening at our schools, we are nevertheless proud that Irvine has moved to the top of the list of large districts.” To view school-level API reports, click here. To see how districts fared, click here.